Ooststellingwerf is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland where Stellingwerfs, a dialect of Dutch Low Saxon, is spoken rather than West Frisian.

Friesland, historically and traditionally known as Frisia, named after the Frisians, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of Flevoland, northeast of North Holland, and south of the Wadden Sea. As of January 2023, the province had a population of about 660,000, and a total area of 5,753 km2 (2,221 sq mi).